Hand Of Sorrow
by Silvarius
Summary: My take on what the final battle would be like. A new bond is created between a half-demon and a schoolgirl. Written before the final chapter of the manga. Inuyasha X Kagome. Songfic to Hand of Sorrow by Within Temptation.


Hey everyone. I'm new to the Inuyasha fanfiction community but I've written other fanfictions before. This idea was based off the song that I took the title from, Hand of Sorrow by Within Temptation. Yes, it is a songfic. It was just my thoughts of what the ending would be like. I wrote this a long time ago before the manga ended but I still liked it anyways and wanted to post it. Reviews and criticism are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Edit: Forgot to mention that there are two memories in this fic. I can't recall the names of the episodes offhand but one is from when Inuyasha transformed into a demon and slaughtered the bandits and the other is from the Tsubaki episode. All quotes are taken directly from the anime. I did not make them up myself. Minus a point for ingenuity.

**Bold** - Song lyrics  
_Italics_ - Inuyasha's thoughts  
_Underlined Italics_ - Kagome's thoughts

--

**The child without a name grew up to be the hand  
****To watch you, to shield you, or kill on demand**

"Kagome!" A horrible cry escaped his throat. He saw as a blade slashed her stomach. He heard her scream in pain. Worst yet, he could smell her blood. She was injured! It was tearing at his very being. With a low growl emanating from him, he ran to her side.

"Inu-yasha." Her voice was tinged with pain, trying her best to conceal it, "Don't worry about me." She collapsed into his arms and passed out.

"Kagome. Kagome!" He chanted her name. _Damnit! How could I be so stupid? She's hurt because I wasn't there. I wasn't protecting her. Damnit. Damnit! DAMNIT!,_ he thought, mentally berating himself.Pulling her close to his chest, he turned to face their enemy . . . Naraku.

**The choice he had made, he could not comprehend  
His blood a grim secret they had to command**

He knew what he had to do. Deep down he knew it was his only choice, the only way Naraku could be destroyed. Without Kagome to help him, he was forced to do it on his own. Gently, he laid the unconscious figure in his arms down. Leaning in close to her face, he whispered, "I may not survive this, Kagome, but I promise you will." He looked down to the gash on her stomach and placed a clawed hand on top of it. The heat coming from it gave him a cold chill.

With her blood on his hand, Inuyasha was reminded of how she was hurt because of him, dragging her into a dangerous situation with him. It was his fault. He wouldn't stand for it anymore. He would use his mixed blood to destroy the evil creature that had shed Kagome's blood.

**He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life  
He prayed for both but was denied**

Throwing the sheathed Tetsusaiga aside, Inuyasha already could feel the changes beginning. Being trapped here by Naraku and in danger of losing his life awakened the demon blood in him. With one last look to Kagome, he surrendered to it. Without Tetsusaiga, there was no way he could stop it . . . not that he wanted to. The choice had been made.

_Forgive me, Kagome. It's the only way. I must protect you. Until I met you, I was always an outcast. A half-demon freak of nature. The only one who ever loved me was my mother. The reason I never gave up on Kikyo was because I was clinging to the belief that someone loved me. But she never loved me for me. Then I met you and found my place in the world, as a protector. You accepted me. You changed my life, Kagome, and now you will see just how much. I . . . I love you._

His final thought echoed in his mind as the transformation was completed. The large fangs and claws along with the blood red eyes and facial markings appeared, signifying his true nature. The demon in him laughed when the human succumbed to him entirely, accepting his fate.

**So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed  
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?  
So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise  
Will all our sins be justified?**

All this time he realized Naraku was still speaking to him – taunting him more like – but it fell on deaf ears. Inuyasha the demon only wanted blood; more specifically, the blood of this creature on his sharp, elongated claws.

Naraku must have realized that Inuyasha wasn't listening. He held out the completed, black jewel in his palm, beckoning the demon to 'play fetch'. The dog demon didn't care, however. With a sinister smile on his face, Naraku's body began to glow as the sacred jewel was absorbed into him.

_Showtime._ Inuyasha held up his claws in front of him, smelling the blood that remained on the one. The blood of a human who was very close to him.

**The curse of his powers tormented his life  
Obeying the crown was a sinister price**

Inuyasha sat at the edge of the river, staring down into it's depths. The events that had past still racing around in his mind's eye. The smell of the bandit's blood still overwhelmed his nose, even after scratching his skin with his claws in this river.

_I can't get the smell of blood off my hands. It's sickening. _Inuyasha remembered his thoughts as he tried to get clean. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Kagome approach.

"Here." She said, holding out the cloth in her hands.

Inuyasha turned his head away, "Keep it." After a pause, he continued, "You don't have to force yourself to stay by me."

The sympathetic looks he was receiving from Kagome tore at him. "What's your problem? You know, I wish you all would stop pussyfooting around me because I don't have a problem with what happened. I don't give a damn what I did."

His outburst of anger didn't affect Kagome as she softly said, "Don't kid yourself."

Inuyasha turned his head away again, afraid of looking into her eyes because she could see the truth. He felt her hands on his shoulders as she pressed herself against his back. Tentatively, he placed a hand on the one on his shoulder.

"Oh Inuyasha, I know how you feel," Her soft voice calming his nerves.

_Kagome. I don't remember a thing from when I was transformed. It wasn't like that before. The next time I transform, I may come after you with these claws, Kagome._

He had decided there and then, for the safety of Kagome and the others that he would never transform again. But now (in this desperate time of need) he was going to use his curse to his advantage, not caring about the cost. Neither side of Inuyasha cared, for he charged forward at the over-sized Naraku, only to be knocked backwards by a burst of demonic aura.

**His soul was tortured by love and by pain  
He surely would flee, but the oath made him stay**

"Inuyasha, why didn't you run away?" Inuyasha could faintly hear Kagome's voice even though she was on his back, in pursuit of the black priestess Tsubaki.

"Look I already told you! I would never leave you Kagome."

"One wrong move and it would have ended up like the time with Kikyo."

Her doubt angered him, "Well that's a chance I had to take. I wasn't gonna run away. I'm staying with you so you better get used to it." He could feel Kagome snuggle closer into his back, pressing her face into his silver hair. Strange, but it comforted him somewhat. However, at that time, their troubles were far from over.

Where were these memories coming from? Demon Inuyasha growled in pain while the human inside felt a surge of warmth. These memories were giving him strength, a kind of strength he had never felt before. While the demon in him could only growl and clutch at his head, the human was gaining courage, the courage necessary to protect the one he loved.

He looked over to the still form of the woman in his memories, the woman with the spiritual powers who never left his side . . . the woman he would sacrifice himself to protect.

_Kagome! No matter what happens, stay strong. Please, never give up. Please!_

There was a tone of begging in his thoughts. The demon merely laughed and took control once again.

**He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life  
He prayed for both but was denied**

The blue irises shone brightly against the red in his eyes, boring deeply into the enemy before him. If his gaze alone could kill, Naraku would be six feet under by now.

The evil cackle resonated, "So Inuyasha, you've finally given in and accepted your fate. You ready to die by my hands?"

The dog demon in question growled savagely in response. All he wanted was this Naraku creature to shut the hell up. People were always all talk but no action. He simply wanted to kill, to feel the satisfaction of taking a life.

Inside the human struggled under the weight of the demon's thoughts. He didn't care what happened to Naraku, protecting Kagome was his only priority (even from himself), at all cost.

The demon leapt toward Naraku again, only to receive the same blast as before. Landing flat on his back, his blood-stained hand came to rest on a familiar object.

**So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed  
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?  
So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise  
Will all our sins be justified?**

_Tetsusaiga! _His hand closed around the sheathed sword that had always protected him. The demon seethed in pain as the swords restraints fought against the tainted blood that now flowed through his veins.

Memories and faces flashed before his eyes, both good and bad. Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Kirara, Shippo, Kaede, Kikyo, Koga – all the people whose lives had been affected by the sacred jewel who they had met during their travels. Was it really worth it? All of this pain and torment for a simple jewel.

_No! I must end this once and for all. Both Naraku and the sacred jewel must be destroyed. In order for anyone, including myself, to find peace, this nightmare must end. But how?_

The answer came to him in an instant. Summoning up all the energy he could muster to pull Tetsusaiga from its sheath, Inuyasha pushed the demon aside. Not fully, but just enough to take control of his destiny.

**Please forgive me for the sorrow, for leaving you in fear  
For the dreams we had to silence, that's all they'll ever be**

_Kagome! If you can hear me, give me your strength!_

A murderous cry escaped him as the human fought to thrust out the fully transformed demon. The fang in his hands glowing as it fought to suppress the demon, while the soul of the wielder fought to get rid of it.

Inuyasha's eyes flickered, gold to blue. The demon fought back knowing full well what this weak human was trying to do. The human would die once and for all.

It became a battle of minds, demon versus human, all traces of the real enemy forgotten. The internal strife continued on. Naraku watched, amused at the foolishness of the half-demon's actions. As if the pathetic attempt would work anyway. Inuyasha would only end up killing himself, a win-win situation in the eyes of the evil demon born from a dark human soul.

Inuyasha the human began to falter. The demon was strong, but he knew that from the start. It was the strength that he had survived on up to this point. There was no way he could win. Just as he thought all hope was lost, a pair of arms embraced him from behind, the hands gripping the front of his robe.

**Still I'll be the hand that serves you  
Though you will not see that it is me**

_Inuyasha, I'm here._

_Kagome?_

_I can hear you in my heart. I'm here now. I'll stay by your side always. My strength is yours to take._

"Kagome." He managed to say.

A blinding pink light surrounded them. He could feel her strength flow into him. It gave him hope that all was not lost. At the same time, a warm light entered his soul and with this newfound vigor, the demon was thrust out into Tetsusaiga.

_But Kagome . . . _

_I understand what you're trying to do, Inuyasha. It's your choice. I trust you and I'll always be with you, no matter what you choose. I love you and I'll never leave you._

Suddenly, Inuyasha understood. Their souls had bonded, becoming one at last. The union of the two human souls is what drove off the demon; the souls that shared something the demon could not comprehend . . . love.

Inuyasha raised the now pure white Tetsusaiga. With only his human strength helping him, he yelled "WIND SCAR!" His wasn't the only voice that had echoed forth. The two voices had also become one and together they unleashed a deadly attack on their long time enemy.

The pure white energy engulfed Naraku. He yelled in agony as he disintegrated into ash, heart and all, leaving only the sacred jewel of the four souls. It floated down, purified, turning into ash as it hit the ground.

Neither one of them noticed Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Shippo, nor Kirara's presence or their collective gasps when they saw what had transpired. Kagome and Inuyasha were too inwardly focused on each other. Both of them collapsing to the ground unconscious, Inuyasha's arm draped protectively over Kagome's healed torso.

**So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed  
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?  
So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise  
Will all our sins be justified?**

"Kagome, you ready to go?" Inuyasha asked, walking up behind her.

A few weeks of rest and relaxation at Kaede's hut had rejuvenated them. The whole ordeal with Naraku was merely a memory. During this resting time, questions were answered and feelings were revealed. Everyone was especially curious as to what happened between Inuyasha and Kagome. They had tried to explain as best as they could, but there were some things that simply could never be answered.

"Inuyasha," she began, turning to face him, "Are you sure you want to go through with this? Without the jewel, I don't know whether we'll be able to get back."

Inuyasha ran a hand through his now black hair. "Of course I want to. I go wherever you go, Kagome. We're bonded now. I'm never gonna leave you."

Kagome smiled at him. _But are you truly happy, Inuyasha? You gave up part of yourself to defeat Naraku and purify the sacred jewel._

He returned her smile. _No, I gave up nothing. You're the other half of me now. If I didn't do what I did, I would never be happy. I could never be as close to you as I am now. I gave up my demon soul to help Midoriko win her battle, and in the end, it helped me win mine._

Looking deep into each others eyes, they could see the truth of their words and the impact it had. They leaned in close, sharing a tender kiss before Inuyasha scooped Kagome up in his arms and leaped into the bone-eater's well, into their destiny.

--

Again, please read and review. I love getting feedback.

- Silvarius


End file.
